Sunday, March 23, 2008

Celebrating Easter, like all holidays in my childhood, came a long with a set of traditions that were anticipated all year long with much excitement. For this spring time holiday, there was always getting a new Easter dress (I still remember my favorite one, I'll have to dig up a photo), dyeing eggs (of course if I ever do this one again they'll have to be wooden), getting out the Easter baskets my mom made us, and searching through all of our plastic eggs for the best chocolates and of course any money. And in my younger days, we always looked forward to a bunny cake! I first remember these from visiting my maternal grandmother (both my grandmothers are master bakers) during the Easter holidays. Guess which one is me in the picture below....

I'm in the middle, about seven months old. The traditional bunny cakes that my grandmother made used an angel food cake cut in half yielding two bunnies, then frosted with a marshmallow cream frosting, and decorated with paper ears and whiskers, all lying on a bed of green coconut grass with jelly beans strewn about.

My mom also made us the bunny cake on the holidays we spent together at home. I'm on the right in the photo below (this was not my favorite easter outfit), about 3 years old. And so, after many years of no bunny cakes, I decided to bring it back this year. Of course, we all know that vegan angel food cake is a near impossibility (though I've heard of a few recipes that attempt it), so I changed it up a little and made the coconut cake from ED&BV, along with the coconut dream frosting. I baked an 8 inch cake, cut it in half, filled it with frosting, then turned it on it's side. I cut out a notch above the eyes to give it a bit the head more definition from the body. The pink tail is a cake truffle made with the cut out cake and some pink buttercream frosting. And of course, the jelly beans for the eyes and nose are vegan (from pangea)! You'll also see my bonus bunny, after a tip on the ppk boards, I ran out and got this vegan dark chocolate bunny (Lindt brand), cause you can't have Easter without a chocolate bunny. So there you have it, three generations of bunny cakes!! Happy Easter!

45 comments:

jenna
said...

ahh too cute!!! You are really talented--YOU should be doing pastry & baking school with me! The coconut cake is FABULOUS!!!!! My omni family and I enjoyed it thoroughly and my dad (who didn't even know what vegan meant) loved it so much he asked for a "slice to go" for his business trip!

So sweet! My mom used to make "bird's nests." (Now that I think about it, I have no idea what they were made out of. Jelly beans for eggs and something sweet/crunchy for the nests...some sort of coated pretzel?) I loved Easter as a kid, too. Such a nice spring-y holiday.

ahhhh...yes, my family also had the infamous brown plaid sofa when i was growing up...and homemade easter dresses...i especially love the rear-view photo of your bunny cake, so cute! i'd also like to know which brand of vegan jelly beans you used.

How cool to keep up with a family tradition. And I love those pictures from your childhood, lots of cute, very happy looking kiddos.

That cake is too cute. You are really good at decorating cakes! I'm not sure I could even frost a sheet cake. I love the tail on the back too! You really went all out with this. It looks great, but I bet it tasted even better.

I've never seen a bunny cake before! The pictures of little you and the bunny cakes are adorable. I did have my Easter without a chocolate bunny - maybe I'll see them on sale somewhere and have a belated Easter treat.

Those are such cute photos- they remind me so much of the Easter morning pics of me & my sibs from when I was a wee one! It's not always easy to veganize old traditions, but it's a great way to begin hybrid new ones.Cheers!

Happy Easter! Those bunny cakes are AWESOME! I always looked forward to angel food cake for Easter as well, let's hope with all the progress people have been making in vegan baking, it won't be too far off!

And I still haven't been to Spiral in Dallas! LOL my mom and I took my cousins to Spiral in Ft. Worth because we took them shopping in the Stockyards. I'm hoping to organize a vegan meet-up sometime next week at Spiral Dallas... it's just that all the Dallas folks I've been emailing with have conflicting schedules. Yikes-- I may just have to go by myself, as I'm really eager to get there!

My family had a bunny cake, too! My mom recently turned over the cake mold to me, so I can't wait to make one for next Easter. Maybe I'll do a similar then and now post with me as a child w/bunny cake and modern day bunny cake. :D